Chelsea chiefs think they can persuade a forward, who’s been likened to Brazilian footballing legend Ronaldinho, to join Enzo Maresca this summer.
Chelsea undergo busy transfer window with nine signings made
Todd Boehly and BluCo have overseen yet another busy window at Stamford Bridge this summer, with Chelsea yet again showing they’re not afraid to invest in bringing in new talent from across the globe and closer to home.
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The Blues have shook hands with an unexpected club.
The club have officially announced their signings of Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham), Omari Kellyman (Aston Villa), Renato Veiga (FC Basel), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester City), Marc Guiu (Barcelona), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United), Estevao Willian (Palmeiras) and Filip Jorgensen (Villarreal), with Aaron Anselmino making the move to Chelsea as well.
This long list of new recruits totals nine additions for the window, and it is believed that Chelsea are also closing in on the signing of Genk goalkeeper Mike Penders, which would make it 10.
|
Chelsea’s best-performing players in the Premier League last season |
Average match rating (WhoScored) |
|---|---|
|
Cole Palmer |
7.48 |
|
Conor Gallagher |
7.13 |
|
Nicolas Jackson |
7.07 |
|
Moises Caicedo |
6.85 |
|
Noni Madueke |
6.84 |
The 18-year-old has apparently agreed to join Maresca, according to HITC, with both Chelsea and Genk agreeing a deal worth around £16.8 million for Penders.
A recurring theme of the last few weeks has been Chelsea adding more rising stars to their ever-growing pool of young players to watch out for. Only Tosin, Dewsbury-Hall and Jorgensen can be considered obvious senior upgrades to the squad, so it remains to be seen if any of their new starlets can go on to become mainstay players in the first team next season.
Chelsea have repeatedly looked to Brazil for talent since Clearlake Capital’s takeover in 2022, with Estevao being the latest talent from that nation to swap South America for the UK.
As well as the teenage winger, Deivid Washington, Angelo Gabriel and Andrey Santos have all decided to join Chelsea. It is believed west London chiefs are convinced they can sign another Brazilian prodigy in the coming weeks as well – Gremio wonderkid Gabriel Mec.
Chelsea optimistic they can persuade Gabriel Mec to join
Mec has drawn comparisons to Ronaldinho, due to his playing style and the fact they both graduated from the same academy. Fabrizio Romano confirmed last month that Chelsea had opened talks to sign the teenage attacker, so this looks like one to watch.
GiveMeSport and journalist Ben Jacobs add further background on this potential deal, claiming Chelsea chiefs are optimistic they can persuade Mec to join Maresca from Gremio this summer.
As well as being likened to Ronaldinho, the 2008-born winger is said to have a “Neymar-esque” playing style as well, according to TEAMtalk analyst and scout Ben Mattinson.
“Neymar-esque play-style and comes from the same academy (Grêmio) as Ronaldinho. Hard to not be excited by him,” wrote Mattinson on X.
“Mec has rapid feet able to do skills so quickly that he can fool defenders easily. A joy to watch, he’s a real throwback Brazilian.”
As of now, it is unclear just how much Gremio want, in terms of a transfer fee, to part ways with their latest rising star.
